Christmas In June

Judges 13

– The story of God’s salvation in Judges 13 begins with the miraculous birth of a ‘saviour’ named Samson

– The story of Samson’s birth teaches us three important lessons about God:

I. God’s Unmerited Favour

1)  The nature of sin

• “evil in the sight of God” – sin is defined by God, not by human opinion
• Sin enslaves us
• Sin lulls us to sleep

2)  The nature of salvation

• God’s initiative in salvation
  1. No plea for help from Israel
  2. No natural ability to procreate
  3. The ‘saviour’ is chosen before birth

• God’s instrument of salvation – a baby!

II. God’s Forbearance

1)  A display of divine glory

•  The ‘Angel of the Lord’ appears for the third time in this book (cf. 2:1-5; 6:12-24)
• Glad tidings of great joy!

2)  A display of human ignorance

• Contrast between Samson’s Mom and Dad
  1. spiritual discernment vs. spiritual dullness
  2. submission to God vs. control of God
  3. high view of women in Judges

• A pagan name for the new ‘saviour’ of Israel – ‘Samson’ = ‘little sun’

 III. God’s Future Plan

1)  Samson’s birth is a picture of Israel and of Israel’s coming Messiah

• Miraculous birth
• Life of Separation

Samson’s only ‘begins’ to save Israel (v. 5) – a key word in the narrative which points us forward to Jesus Christ